Mumbai Crime: Man kills month-old baby because he wanted a son

He is yet to be charged for female infanticide; the body will be exhumed for post-mortem as death certificate was issued without one

Upset that his wife gave birth to a girl and not a boy, a 30-year-old man murdered his month-old daughter in cold blood and then abandoned his wife at Churchgate station. Nearly a month after this atrocity, he was finally arrested yesterday, once his wife gathered the courage to tell her family what had happened. The police are also investigating how a death certificate was issued for the baby without a post-mortem being conducted.

After murdering his daughter, Kailash Bhande threatened his wife into silence and abandoned her at Churchgate station. Pic/Hanif Patel

The accused, Kailash Bhande (30) and the complainant, Vaishnavi (28) got married two years ago at their native place in Akola. They moved to the Vasudev chawl in Papad Khind, Virar east, and he worked at a private company in Vasai.

On March 30, Vaishnavi gave birth to their first child – a girl. Kailash was disappointed that it was not a son, and would come home drunk every night and abuse his wife. The couple also fought about this frequently, and it was during one such fight that Kailash threw his wife out of the house on the night of May 15. Taking advantage of her absence, he strangled his month-old daughter to death.

When Vaishnavi returned home, he threatened her with dire consequences if she ever told anyone the truth. The next day, they took the child to the primary health centre in Vasai and asked for a death certificate. The accused told the officials that he did not want a post-mortem, and allegedly also confirmed this in writing. After collecting the death certificate, the couple buried the infant in Virar. Then the accused told his wife that they were going back to their native town, but instead he abandoned her at Churchgate station.

Devastated, Vaishnavi went to CST and took a train to Akola by herself. For three weeks, she stayed with her parents but did not speak about word about what her husband had done. When she finally broke down and revealed everything, her father brought her to Mumbai and they registered a complaint against Kailash.

The Virar police booked him under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 182 (providing false information) of the IPC and remanded him to police custody. For now, he has not been charged for female infanticide, but the police are investigating the matter and will shortly exhume the body for autopsy.

“We have written to the Tehsildar for permission to exhume the dead body. After that the post-mortem will be done. Action will also be taken against the official who provided the death certificate to the accused,” said Police Inspector Yunus Shekh from Virar police station.